Broadcast - Live in Meredith, 2010

10th December 2010 - Meredith Music Festival, Meredith, Victoria, Australia

Winter Sun Wavelengths
Corporeal
In Here The World Begins
Black Cat
Lunch Hour Pops
Children
Eyes Open

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Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion

Released April 11, 2011 / Slumberland US, Fortuna POP! UK

Sycamore Tree
Through The Floor
Silver Sun
Alien Rivers
Half A Moon
Flying Into The Sun
Shake The Shackles
Precarious Stair
Invisible City
Blood Barons
Prometheus At Large

In Love with Oblivion is the second album by Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts, and it’s one of the best albums of the year so far. The sound of the record is warm, atmospheric and energetic. The opening ‘Sycamore Tree’ has 60s garage rock aesthetics, much like the previously reviewed Brooklyn band Vivian Girls, and it shows that the production on this album has improved since their 2008 debut, Alight At Night. Elsewhere on the album the world of psychedelia is visited on ‘Invisible City’, while ‘Flying Into The Sun’ is worthy of Nico. The extremely catchy ‘Shake The Shackles’ (released last year on a 7 inch) and ‘Precarious Stair’ are intense, volatile and extremely danceable. The longest and most daring track on the album is ‘Alien Rivers’, which suffers from a terrible title and is far too long, however it is a blissed out dreamscape with Brad Hargett’s ominous voice, tambourines and chirping crickets. The final song, 'Prometheus At Large' is a lovely little rockabilly jam with traces of The Velvet Underground and is the perfect way to end such a thrilling album.

With this album, Crystal Stilts are successful in finding a wonderful meeting point between droney noise and melodic pop landscapes. With its buzzing surf-rock, thriving keyboards, jangly tambourines and murky rockabilly, In Love With Oblivion solidifies their identity as one of the best noisepop bands around.

Full of consistent tunes, Crystal Stilts have given us a dark and twisted pop record. Blueboy and Popgirly are indeed in love with In Love With Oblivion.

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Vivian Girls - Share The Joy

Released April 8, 2011 / Mistletone

The Other Girls
I Heard You Say
Dance (If You Wanna)
Lake House
Trying to Pretend
Sixteen Ways
Take It as It Comes
Vanishing of Time
Death
Light in Your Eyes

With Share The Joy, Brooklyn's Vivian Girls have expanded their repertoire with more instruments and lyrical content than ever before. Dum Dum Girls and Best Coast aside, Vivian Girls were the first to bring back the 60s/garage lo-fi, but the aforementioned bands have recently succeeded in not only matching the fire starting Vivs, but overtaking them by a lap or two. But with Share The Joy the Vivian Girls step up to the plate and take charge, realising that they needed to cover much more landscape than they did on their previous two albums. And they succeed in this task. 'The Other Girls' drives home a point, that the Vivian Girls have the coolest garage rock riffs and surfy guitars in indiepop. 'Dance (If You Wanna)' is a happy indie dance gem, followed by the sinister 'Lake House', proving that their song writing skills have improved drastically. 'Vanishing Of Time' is droney and you’ll be hard pressed to not lose yourself within it, while the drama filled 'Sixteen Ways' is as bleak as anything they’ve ever recorded. 'Take It As It Comes' is absolutely fantastic and is an obvious homage to their influences from 60s girls groups, particularly Shangri-Las. It’s dreamy raw garage pop at its very best. This will easily find itself on the top 10 albums of the year list come December.

The Raveonettes - Live in Hollywood, 2009

24th January 2009 - The Music Box, Hollywood, California

You Say You Lie
Dead Sound
Hallucinations
Here Comes Mary
Black Satin
Noisy Summer
Black White
Love In A Trashcan
Attack Of The Ghost Riders
Lust
My Tornado
Young And Beautiful
Twilight
Love Can Destroy Everything
Aly, Walk With Me (MP3)

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The Raveonettes - Raven In The Grave

Released 2011 / Vice Records

Recharge & Revolt
War In Heaven
Forget That You're Young
Apparitions
Summer Moon
Let Me On Out
Ignite
Evil Seeds
My Time's Up

The Raveonettes are one of my all-time favourite bands, so I was super excited about this one, their 5th album Raven In The Grave. The Danish duo (Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner) have once again produced a record that will absorb you. Each of their records are different and this is their most ambient to date. This record sounds like a daydream, full of airy atmospheric sounds, twinkling keyboards and lo-fi romanticism. Lead single 'Recharge & Revolt' is the perfect kick starter, sounding like The Radio Dept. spent a day in the studio with Depeche Mode, I advise you to listen to it loud. The drums on 'Apparitions' are gloomy and reminiscent of Joy Division, while Sune Rose sings "We're apparitions of a sinful spell", the keyboards are lovely and the rush of distortion near the end is signature Raveonettes. 'Summer Moon' is pure '50s style with a touch of the graveyard shift creeping in. The ghostly synths and beautiful riffs work so well together on this record. 'Evil Seeds' is tremendously good, with hard hitting synth riffs and a gorgeous bass line. 'My Time's Up' is fragile and a perfect closing track to such a wonderful album. Raven In The Grave is full of ethereal glow, with beautiful vocals and honest lyrics. It is a perfectly crafted masterpiece.

Morrissey - Live in Adelaide, 2002

17th October 2002 - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide, Australia

I Want The One I Can't Have
Suedehead
Little Man, What Now?
Hairdresser On Fire
The First Of The Gang To Die
Jack The Ripper
I Like You
Alsatian Cousin
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Sister I'm A Poet
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Meat Is Murder
Irish Blood, English Heart
November Spawned A Monster
Speedway
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

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